Samsung: Blu-Ray Has Five Years Left -- Posted by staff on Friday, September 5 2008 Visit Techdeals
"A representative for Samsung Electronics said in an interview that Blu-ray disc format was unlikely to enjoy a long lifespan, like DVD. Instead, the high-definition video standard has only five years left.
“I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10,” Andy Griffiths, director of consumer electronics at Samsung UK told Pocket-lint web-site in an interview.
The claim seems surprising as Samsung is one of the key members of Blu-ray disc association (BDA), the alliance that oversees development of the Blu-ray disc. Sony and other members of BDA said in the past that Blu-ray would be as successful as DVD, which has been on the market for eleven years now and has all chances to live for several more years.
Samsung is confident that Blu-ray will become big, but the consumer electronics giant may be somewhat afraid of digital distribution of high-definition movies over the Internet, which is a threat for Blu-ray on the mass market.
Nowadays sales of movies on Blu-ray are on the rise since quality difference between standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) can be noticed easily, especially when it comes to new movies. Unfortunately, both hardware and content prices remain on the high levels, which limits adoption of the format in the mainstream market." Pioneer Working On 500GB Bluray Disc -- Posted by staff on Friday, August 8 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Pioneer launched a 400GB Blu-ray disc just last month, but the firm’s already smashed its own capacity ceiling by unveiling a 500GB successor.
The latest disc tops the 400GB disc’s measly 16 layers by adding a further four layers, resulting in 20 layers each with a 25GB capacity.
Brendan Sheridan, Multimedia Division Product Manager at Pioneer, said that 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray discs might be enough for current demands, but that Pioneer envisages the need for “far greater capacities as HD streaming in particular becomes commonplace and users build larger files of digital content”.
It was thought that ‘crosstalk’ between the separate layers on the disc could cause problems, but Pioneer seems to have the issue licked. Because the firm’s in talks with the Blu-ray Disc Association to make the multi-layered method – which Sheridan said is compatible with Blu-ray devices – a standard for the format.
Sadly, the 500GB disc is currently only at the prototype stage."
Panasonic Release 6x Write-Once Blu-Ray Disc Media -- Posted by staff on Saturday, June 21 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, announced today that it has developed the world’s first Write-Once Blu-ray Discs(BD-R) with 6X writing speed*.
The new discs will be available in Japan with both 25GB and 50GB capacities in this July.
Panasonic, which introduced the world’s first dual-layer 1X BD-RE Blu-ray Disc in 2004**, 2X BD-R/RE Discs in 2006, and 4X BD-R Disc in 2007, is now launching world’s first 6X BD-R to meet consumer demand to write and read large amounts of data at a higher speed. The new 6X discs have a maximum data transfer speed of 216Mbps, which is 20% faster than that of 16X DVD-R discs. This transfer speed, along with the discs’ high capacity, allows consumers to use these discs for a variety of applications such as storing High Definition video or backing up PC data.
The new discs have a wide power margin at any writing speeds from 1X to 6X. This enables high-quality recording, even if the drive’s laser power fluctuates, resulting in greater overall drive compatibility.
Panasonic’s adoption of newly-developed disc technology produces extremely level and well-balanced discs with highly precise signal grooves. This improves servo characteristics and enables the laser beam to focus to the right position even when the disc is rotating with 6X high speed, thus providing optimum reading and writing performance.
Blu-ray disc drives compatible with 6X write-once Blu-ray discs are planned to be commercialized in Japan by the end of September 2008."
Modchips Wins Appeal In £1million UK Modchip Case -- Posted by staff on Wednesday, June 11 2008 Visit Techdeals
"In a landmark historic occasion today 11 June 2008 at the court of appeal criminal division the legal argument that modchips do not circumvent copyright protection was upheld by Judge Justice Jacobs.
The granting of this appeal based on the argument that the copyright infringement has already taken place before the use of a modchip has resulted in the squashing of all 26 counts against MrModchips
The defendant MrModchips was awarded full costs as a result of his successful appeal and offered his most sincerest thanks to his legal team and his many well wishers who had supported his fight for justice in the face of what are now no more than corporate public bullies.
The normally very vocal Michael Rawlinson from ELSPA was strangly unavaliable for comment today.
Mr Rawlinson was originally quoted as saying."
[ http://www.team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47710 ] LG Electronics Launches New 6x Bluray Writers -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, June 3 2008 Visit Techdeals
"LG Electronics today launched its new line of optical disc drives, which feature one of the fastest Blu-ray reading and writing speed of 6x. The latest models -- BE06, GBC-H20L and GBW-H20L -- are available now through national retail stores as well as other leading online electronics retailers.
Unique to LG, the line offers SecurDisc(TM) capabilities, which provide data protection and content access control on all current optical formats, and LightScribe(TM) technology, which enables consumers to easily create direct-to-disc labels right from their drive.
"LG drives offer everyday users and professionals some of the fastest recording speeds in the industry," said Marc Sorkin, senior marketing manager, for LG Electronics IT and Home Entertainment products. "With cutting-edge technologies such as SecurDisc and LightScribe, which make data transfer easier and safer, these drives meet consumers' increasing demand for a compact storage option both in the office and at home."
Storage for the Home or Office
The next generation in optical storage products, models BE06, GBC-H20L and GBW-H20L provide back-up for a wide variety of files, photos, business documents, or video. Consumers will appreciate the 6x speed at which the drives write and read information, their compatibility with DVD and CDR CDRW, as well as their quick and easy data storage option.
Perfect for laptop users or those that have a multitude of PCs, LG's BE06 can be easily connected through the USB 2.0 connection and a DC power adapter. The BE06 has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $379.95. Additional features include:
-- Compatibility with all BD, DVD and CD formats
-- 6x BD-R/2x BD-RE read compatible
-- DVD+RW/-RW recording speed to 16x recording
The GBC-H20L and the GBW-H20L are designed to satisfy consumer needs for safe and fast data backup. Boasting one of the industry's fastest read and write speed at 16x, the GBW-H20L can also handle up to 50GB of data, equivalent to around 4-1/2 hours of high-definition video or 22 hours of standard definition video (on a dual layer 50GB BD-R/BD-RE recordable media). The GBC-H20L and the GBW-H20L carry manufacturer's suggested retail prices of $199.95 and $279.95 respectively. Additional features include:
-- 6x BD-R/2x BD-RE read compatible
-- 6x BD-R/2x BD-RE read and write compatible (GBW-H20L)
-- 16x DVD+RW/-RW recording speed (GBW-H20L)
-- Up to 40X CDRW recording speeds
ASUS Announces 20x DVD Writer -- Posted by staff on Thursday, May 15 2008 Visit Techdeals
" Catering to users that demand increased data storage, ASUS, a leading provider of high-performance optical storage devices, today announced the new DRW-20B1S/B1ST – an industry leading DVD rewriter that supports 12X DVD-RAM write, 20X DVD+/-R and 12X DVD+/-R double layer media sources. It also features Optimal Tuning Strategy – a technology that automatically adjusts burning for optimum disc backups; and E-Green Engine for great energy savings.
Automatic Adjustments for Optimum Disc Backup with Optimal Tuning Strategy (OTS)
The ASUS DRW-20B1S/B1ST is equipped with an innovative feature – Optimal Tuning Strategy (OTS) that provides users with improved disc burning for better total write quality. With OTS, the drive will perform a test burning before really burning the disc, and OTS is intelligent enough to encompass both media and drive variations, as well as operating temperatures into its calculations – allowing it to provide the optimal write speeds to produce the optimal burning strategy for the new disc. After the disc is burnt, OTS memorizes the particular type of disc, and will utilize the same burning strategy when the same type of disc is used. This not only reduces the possibility to burn unplayable discs, it also provides high quality backups and improves compatibility so that the disc can more easily be read by other drives; as well as extends the lifetime of drives.
Enjoy Energy Savings with E-Green Engine (Energy-Green Engine)
Another innovation of the DRW-20B1S/B1ST is the E-Green Engine technology. This handy feature provides an E-Green Mode which activates when the drives are idle for 2.5 minutes. Once activated, drive applications are closed when not in use to help conserve energy – helping the environment by saving energy, and in turn decreasing CO2 emissions and reducing the depletion of trees. According to in-depth calculations: on average, the PATA and SATA versions of the drive will provide 75% and 27% power savings respectively over competing solutions.
Versatility with Multiple Media Formats
Flexibility for a wide array of media formats is also very important. The ASUS DRW-20B1S/B1ST offers both 20X DVD-Write and 20X DVD+Write, making it capable of reading from and writing on DVD-Write/ Rewrite and DVD+Write/ Rewrite formats. With dual-format adopting features, the DRW-20B1S/B1ST is able to create DVDs that can be played and read by most DVD-ROM drives and DVD players. It also enables 12X DVD-RAM, 6X DVD-Rewrite, 8X DVD+Rewrite, 16X DVD-ROM single layer, 48X CD-R, 32X CD-RW and 48X CD-ROM capabilities – providing flexible and high-speed operations for a variety of formats.
New Generation Airflow Field Modification (AFFMII)
Noise and vibration are two major headaches users encounter when using a high-speed drive. AFFMII is designed to change the uneven airflow field inside the drive to balance pressure distribution – leading to quieter and more stable operations.
Auto Vibration Reducing System (AVRS)
The AVRS technology is designed to minimize the vibrations caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components, as well as the drive and PC chassis. AVRS is designed to reduce vibration and noise induced by unbalanced mass of rotating machinery. With AVRS, the DRW-20B1S/B1ST will provide high readability and playability."
Full Specs: [ http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=11157 ]
Microsoft Denies Lite-On Blu-ray Rumour -- Posted by staff on Thursday, April 3 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Microsoft has officially denied that it’s working with a Taiwanese manufacturer to develop a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.
On Tuesday Register Hardware reported that the software giant had inked a deal with Lite-On for the development of Xbox 360 Blu-ray drives. It was claimed the drives would be integrated into a smaller and less power-hungry Xbox 360s.
But a Microsoft spokeswoman has since told Register Hardware that the company has denied any such rumours. In a statement, Microsoft said: “No. Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360”.
The company added that Xbox 360 sales are driven by games and that the Redmond-based firm “remains focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available”.
Microsoft also claimed it has the “largest library of on-demand HD content available” and the ability to “play back DVDs in high definition”. The company recently canned production of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive, following Toshiba’s decision to step back from the next generation format.
Although Microsoft may have denied it’s working with Lite-On to develop an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive, the statement doesn’t rule out the possibility of a Blu-ray drive for the console altogether.
When Microsoft recently denied it was in Blu-ray talks with Sony, the software giant didn’t explicitly state that it isn’t considering the format. So, thanks to some careful wording on Microsoft’s part, a Blu-ray enabled Xbox 360 could still be a possibility, just not with Sony or Lite-On. "
[ http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/03/microsoft_denies_lite_on_blu_ray/ ] Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses -- Posted by staff on Friday, February 22 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.
HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.
“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”
Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.
Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.
This decision will not impact on Toshiba’s commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.
Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD."
[ http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/ir/en/news/20080219_03.htm ] Plextor Launches A 4x SATA Blu-ray Drive (PX-B920SA) -- Posted by staff on Wednesday, February 6 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Plextor, a leading supplier of optical and storage devices, announces a new 4x Blu-ray DVD ReWriter drive using the SATA interface – the PX-B920SA. Building on the success of its previous version, the internal dual-format drive is capable of writing Blu-ray discs at 4x (BD-R) and also plays HD-DVD ROM discs.
In addition, Plextor has added extra convenience by including LightScribe technology to enable custom text and designs to be printed/burned onto discs.
Rudy de Meirsman, Sales & Marketing Manager of Plextor Europe, says: “Plextor has developed its second Blu-ray drive to be faster, dual-format, as it reads HD-DVD discs, and utilises the SATA interface. Plextor has a long history in providing premium, high reliability optical drives and the new PX-B920SA sets the standard again.”
The PX-B920SA not only uses the latest Blu-ray technology (and reads HD-DVDs), but is also a highly versatile dual-layer DVD drive that combines multiple formats - DVD R/RW and RAM - into one. It can accept both 12cm and 8cm discs (in the horizontal position) and has a large 4MB buffer to ensure there is no data interruption. Write speeds: 4x BD-R, 2xBD-RE, 16x DVD+R/-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+/-R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 40x CD-R and 24x CD-RW.
A comprehensive range of software is included: Intervideo WinDVD8, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5.5, Ulead Burn.Now 4.5.
Having been developed to strict environmental and recycling standards, the Plextor
PX-B920SA meets EU RoHS (restriction of hazardous substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives.
The Plextor PX-B920SA will be available from end of February 2008 at Plextor’s network of dealers. It is covered by Plextor’s Fast Warranty Service (2-year warranty in the EU, Norway and Switzerland (Collect & Return); other countries 1-year carry-in). "
[ http://www.plextor.be/press/releases/px-b920sa.asp?choice=PX-B920SA ] Copying CDs Could Be Made Legal -- Posted by staff on Saturday, January 12 2008 Visit Techdeals
"Copying music from a CD to a home computer could be made legal under new proposals from the UK government.
Millions of people already "rip" discs to their computers and move the files to MP3 players, although the process is technically against copyright law.
Intellectual property minister Lord Triesman said the law should be changed so it "keeps up with the times".
Music industry bodies gave a cautious welcome to the proposals, which are up for public consultation until 8 April.
The changes would apply only to people copying music for personal use - meaning multiple copying and internet file-sharing would still be banned.
Owners would not be allowed to sell or give away their original discs once they had made a copy.
Sales concerns
"To allow consumers to copy works and then pass on the original could result in a loss of sales," the proposals warn.
UK music industry body the BPI said it supported the move to clarify the law for consumers, but warned that any changes should not damage the rights of record companies.
The Association of Independent Music (Aim) said the proposals did not go far enough - pointing out that CDs could become obsolete in the next decade.
It said that, once CDs are replaced, the law could be misused to "open the floodgates to unstoppable copying", adding that it would like to see copyright holders compensated when music was copied.
Lord Triesman said the proposed changes would explore "where the boundaries lie between strong protection for right holders and appropriate levels of access for users".
The proposals also suggest schools and libraries should be given greater flexibility in how they use copyrighted material like CDs and DVDs, and suggests parodies of songs and films could be made exempt from copyright law.
The consultation follows the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which recommended that aspects of the intellectual property system should be reformed." Dual Layer DVD Demand To Increase In 2008 -- Posted by staff on Friday, December 7 2007 Visit Techdeals
"The worldwide demand for single-side dual-layer DVD+R/-R discs will increase in 2008, according to sources at disc makers and research firms.
Since Ritek and CMC Magnetics expanded their 2.4x dual-layer DVD production capacity starting in 2007, pricing has dropped from NT$70-80 (US$2.17-2.48) to NT$55-60, which has helped to boost market demand, according the market sources.
The demand for dual-layer DVDs in 2007 is to be around 190 million units and is expected to go up to 400 million units in 2008, according to disc makers citing a report from BOC.
With worldwide demand for DVD-burners expected to reach 100-110 million units and DVD players around 20 million units in 2008, assuming just a few backup discs per system, demand for the dual-layer DVDs could be close to 400 million units in 2008, according to the sources.
Additionally, optical disc makers pointed to the popularity of Xbox 360 games consoles and the potential for backup game copies running on modified systems to further drive blank disc sales." Sony, Fuji and Maxell Fined For Price Fixing -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, November 20 2007 Visit Techdeals
"THE European Commission has fined Sony, Fuji and Maxell $109.8 million for price fixing.
According to Reuters the three between 1999 and 2002 managed to raise and control prices by holding secret meetings between them.
Sony was fined 30 per cent more for trying to cover up the investigation while Fujifilm had its fine reduced to 13.2 million euros for co-operating with investigators. Hitachi Maxell also co-operated and was only hit with a 14.4 million euros fine.
European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the fines are a warning to outfits who thought cartels were a good way of doing business.
The investigation started in May 2002 when Inspector Knacker of the Euro Yard raided the offices of the three companies. He found shedloads of evidence about what the three were up too.
As coppers were swarming around the building. A Sony bigwig refused to answer questions. Another employee rushed to dump a ton of documents into the company shredder while Inspector Knacker was pounding on the door.
In fact Sony only said "Oh you mean THAT Cartel" after it received a formal charge sheet from the Commission.
The Cartel, which controlled 85 per cent of the market, covered two of the most popular professional videotape formats of the day, Betacam SP and Digital Betacam.
After more than 11 meetings the Cartel managed to organise three price increases and tried to stabilise prices whenever an increase was impossible, the Commission said." DVD Forum Approves High-Density DVD Disc Spec -- Posted by staff on Sunday, November 18 2007 Visit Techdeals
"DVD Forum, the international organization that oversees standardization of DVD and HD DVD optical disc formats, has finally approved version 2.0 of triple-layer HD DVD discs. The availability of physical specification of an HD DVD read-only media that can hold up to 51GB of data will allow the manufacturers to start producing the appropriate disks, whereas content producers may now start to think about how to use additional capacity.
The approval of DVD specifications for high density read-only disc [HD DVD-ROM (51G)] part 1 physical specifications, version 2.0, took place during the 40th steering committee meeting on November 15, 2007. Back in September, the DVD Forum also approved version 1.9 specification of 51GB HD DVD media as well as revision 1.0 of triple-layer twin format discs, which can hold up to 30GB of data on its HD DVD side and up to 4.7GB of data on its DVD side.
The new 51GB HD DVD ROM disc has a three-layer structure with each layer storing 17GB of data, which is an advancement in capacity over current ROM discs, which hold 15GB of data in each layer of a single-sided disc. Continued improvement in disc mastering technology has achieved further minimization in the recording pit, supporting a further boost in capacity to 17GB in single layer and a full 51GB on a single-sided triple-layer disc. Toshiba has confirmed the disc structure and its successful operation earlier this year.
Neither Toshiba, nor DVD Forum have confirmed that triple-layer HD DVDs will playback on existing HD DVD hardware, such as players and computer drives. But there are talks in dedicated high-definition related forums that improved 17GB layers actually gained in readability [compared to 15GB layers] and that even first-generation HD DVD players can read tree layers. Therefore, it is highly likely that movies distributed on triple-layer HD DVD 51GB discs will be playable even on the very first HD DVD players.
It remains to be seen whether triple-layer HD DVDs are more cost-efficient compared to dual-layer Blu-ray discs both in terms of media costs as well as replications costs."
[ http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/storage/display/20071118073411_Enlarged_Triple_Layer_HD_DVD_Finally_Gets_Approved.html ] Blu-ray BD+ Cracked -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, October 30 2007 Visit Techdeals
"COPY AND BURN FIRM, Slysoft reckons it has cracked the beefed-up copy protection on Blu-ray disks, BD+.
It reckons it has the routine cracked even though Sony reckons its protection will be good for ten years.
SlySoft boss, Giancarlo Bettini says he has wonders "when people will understand that the more restrictions, pressures and protection measures that are applied to limit the functionality of a thing, the fewer sales that will result, not more."
According to German reports, Bettini reckons he'll have commercial Blu-ray disk-copying software out by the end of the year."
[ http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/30/blu-ray-bd-cracked ] Sony Unveils 4x Blu-Ray Disc Writer Drive -- Posted by staff on Monday, October 22 2007 Visit Techdeals
"Sony Electronics today announced its second generation internal Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) writer drive for the computer aftermarket, which boasts 4X BD-R and 16X DVD+R recording speeds.
The new BWU-200S model cuts BD-R burning time by half compared to the first generation model, allowing for a full 50GB BD-R disc to be recorded in about 45 minutes. It also features improved DVD burning speeds, making it a multi-format combo burner that eliminates the need for more than one drive in a system.
The drive comes with CyberLink BD Solution software that provides a comprehensive application for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content captured in the native HDV 1080i format from an HDV camcorder. In addition, the software supports recording on DVDs and CDs, as well as playback of DVDs recorded in the AVCHD format.
The BWU-200S drive can record up to 50GB of data for random access storage and backup on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE
(rewritable) discs, or up to 230 minutes of high-definition HDV 1080i video on a BD-R/RE 50GB disc. It also supports
recording on standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW/RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+R double/dual layer discs, and CDs.
The internal drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows Vista® software.
“Consumers and professional videographers alike can enjoy the huge storage capacity to record and experience high-
definition video with our Blu-ray Disc drive,” said Bob DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division.
The new drive is supported by Adobe® Encore® CS3 that now comes bundled with Adobe Premiere® Pro CS3 software, providing video production professionals with another option for outputting high-definition video on a Blu-ray Disc with MPEG-2 or H.264 compression.
“Advanced optical storage technologies, such as Blu-ray Disc technology with its vast capacity compared to DVD
technology, will be key enablers for next generation PC applications like HD personal video content and high-definition TV recording,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for removable storage at IDC. “Sony's many innovations in optical storage have prepared the company to be a leader in the Blu-ray Disc writable market." First Bluray (BD+) Protected Titles Causing Problems -- Posted by staff on Friday, October 5 2007 Visit Techdeals
"Two of the most eagerly anticipated next-gen releases in recent memory have hit a series of playback snags on select Blu-ray players, but a fix is said to be on the way.
As we've previously reported, 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' and 'Day After Tomorrow' (both released this past Tuesday) mark the first Blu-ray releases from Fox Home Entertainment following a six month sabbatical.
But while the discs have generally been well-received (our own Peter Bracke raved about the audio/video quality in his review of 'Silver Surfer'), what was initially a cause for celebration has become an exercise in frustration for some Blu-ray fans as incompatibility issues with some players have hindered playback of the discs.
The most severe problems have been reported on Samsung's BDP-1200 and LG's BH100, which are both said to be incapable of playing back the discs at all. Less catastophic issues (error messages and playback stutter) have been reported for Samsung's BDP-1000. The discs appear to play back fine on all other Blu-ray players (including the PlayStation 3), although users have reported lengthy load times of up to two minutes.
It has been widely speculated that these issues stem from the use of BD+ copy protection on the two discs. We contacted Fox for comment, but so far there's no official word from the studio.
Calls placed to both Samsung and LG customer support revealed that both manufacturers are aware of the issue, and that both are working on firmware updates to correct it. Samsung promised a firmware update within "a couple" weeks, while LG said an update is expected in 3-4 days.
We'll keep you posted when/if any official statements are released by Fox or any of the manufacturers involved. In the meantime, we've set up a dedicated thread in our Forums area to discuss playback problems with both the 'Silver Surfer' and 'Day After Tomorrow' discs."
[ http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/1035 ] Pioneer to Exhibit Latest Technologies at CEATEC JAPAN 2007 -- Posted by staff on Wednesday, October 3 2007 Visit Techdeals
" Pioneer Corporation will be showcasing its latest technologies and premium products for discerning consumers under the theme, "Feel the Next Stage - a new generation of emotional experience," at CEATEC JAPAN 2007 which will be held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from Tuesday, October 2 to Saturday, October 6.
The Pioneer booth (10A90) will feature the main stage presentation for its theme of the exhibition with live music, the "Smart-Loop" stage presentation for the innovative in-car life offered by the latest car navigation systems, and the "KURO" Theater focusing on the company's newest 1080p plasma TVs "KURO," as well as the Home entertainment, High-end Audio, Mobile entertainment, and R&D zones.
About Pioneer Booth
Home Entertainment
In the Home Entertainment zone, viewers will see, hear and feel an emotional experience like never before through Pioneer new-generation 1080p plasma display TVs "KURO," and home theater systems offering high-quality images and next-generation surround sound.
< Main exhibited products >
Plasma display TVs "KURO" (PDP-6010HD, PDP-5010HD, etc.)
AV multi-channel amplifiers (VSA-LX70, etc)
5.1ch surround systems (HTP-LX70, etc)
Blu-ray Disc player (BDP-LX80)
Speaker systems (S-1EX, S-3EX, etc.)
Mobile Entertainment
Pioneer third-generation CYBER NAVI car navigation systems, realizing its Smart Loop concept, will be introduced.
< Main exhibited products >
CYBER NAVI car navigation systems (AVIC-HG099G, etc.)
High-end car audio systems (RS-D7X III, RS-A9X)
High-end Audio
In the special audio room, the audience will enjoy Pioneer high-end speaker systems and car audio systems utilizing its know-how and technology that the company has cultivated for over 70 years. A special lecture will be held by the engineers.
< Main exhibited products >
TAD Reference One
Carrozzeria X series
5.1ch surround systems
R&D
In the R&D zone, part of Pioneer's R&D activities will be introduced covering the home entertainment and car entertainment technologies. Visitors will have a peep at the future of audiovisual equipment and car navigation systems.
< Main exhibited products >
3-D floating vision
Three-dimensional image display system is displayed as an in-car application.
HEED (High Efficiency Electro-Emission Device)
Using the "HEED" technology, small-sized TV tube with super high sensitivity is realized.
Optical fiber multiplex transfer
Single-optical fiber multiplex transfer technology (with the HDMI signal for digital audio/visual devices) is introduced.
Image-recognition car navigation system
The image-recognition technology using in-car cameras is applied to car navigation systems.
Organic-dye recording film Blu-ray Disc recordable disc and driver
For more details of the exhibits (in Japanese), please visit: http://www.pioneer-event.com" XBox 360 Price UK Cuts -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, August 21 2007 Visit Techdeals
A 'Microsoft source' has confirmed the 24th will see a price drop in the UK - with the following prices: Core 360: £179.99, Premium 360: £249.99, Elite 360: £299.99.
More Xbox info at:
[ http://www.xbox3sixty.co.uk ] Wii DVD Playback Software Released -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, August 21 2007 Visit Techdeals
"Team Symbiote have released a DVD Player for the Wii, now all those Wii modders can jump for joy. It seems as if a lot of hackers were at work on the project and it is a total software solution to get DVDs playing on the Wii. In order to get it working, you have to Burn the application with Clone CD, then boot it in a modded Wii with a homebrew program YAOSM 1.8, when the menu pops up you simply hit Z to unmount, change the disc to a DVD Movie and then hit START to play - DVD movies finally playable on the Wii!
Controls in Movie:
L, Left, and Down = Rewind
R, Right, and Up = Fast Forward
Start, and A = Pause/Play
B = Stop
X = Subtitles On/Off
Y, Left Thumbstick, and Right Thumbstick = Nothing
Z = Unmount"
[ http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=19907 ] Ritek Shifts Disk Production To Vietnam -- Posted by staff on Tuesday, August 7 2007 Visit Techdeals
"Ritek, the second largest Taiwan-based maker of optical discs, will, in line with its overall adjustment in production, shift some of its blank CD-R and DVD+R/-R disc manufacturing equipment from Taiwan-based factories to those of Ritek Vietnam, its subsidiary in Vietnam, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on August 3.
The shift will be through Ritek's sale of manufacturing equipment to its wholly owned overseas subsidiary Score High Group for US$34.560 million, the current book value of the equipment. Score High will then resell the equipment to Ritek Vietnam, Ritek spokesman Eric Ai indicated.
Having begun production in the third quarter of 2006, Ritek Vietnam currently has a monthly capacity of 20 million CD-R discs plus three million DVD+R/-R discs, Ai pointed out. The additional manufacturing equipment will approximately double existing monthly capacity enabling Ritek Vietnam to supply fast growing markets in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Malaysia, as well as India and current main markets in Europe, Ai noted.
In addition to Ritek, CMC Magnetics, the largest Taiwan-based maker of optical discs, had its subsidiary maker in Thailand start production of blank CD-R discs in the third quarter of 2006, and production of DVD+R/-R discs is to begin in the second half of 2007, according to industry sources. Gigastorage, a second-tier optical disc maker in Taiwan, has also set up a subsidiary in Thailand, with production of blank CD-R discs having kicked off in May 2007, and that of DVD+R/-R discs to begin in the fourth quarter, the sources indicated."
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and pioneer isn't helpfull either..on the contrairy they simply suggested that the drive is outdated ! 